There are two commonly used approaches to sealing the ears of people against loud sounds such as occur in factories. One approach is to provide an earplug with most of it entering the ear canal, and which holds itself in position by friction between the earplug and the ear canal of the wearer. Another approach is to mount earplug assemblies at the ends of a band that extends halfway about the wearer's head, with each earplug assembly sealing against the walls of the ear which surround the entrance to the ear canal. The band approach avoids objections of some people to the insertion of objects in their ear canal. However, unlike the ear canal, which is largely cylindrical and more easily sealed against, the walls surrounding the entrance to the ear canal are of a more irregular shape. A band earplug which could be constructed at relatively low cost, and which tightly sealed to the walls around the entrance to the ear canal of a wearer, would be of considerable value.